Tennessee football has officially flipped the switch to Music City Bowl mode, with game week now here. When Vols fans look back on this season down the road, they may feel a little differently about the 2025 team. It didn’t live up to expectations, but it also might not have reached a bowl game at all without Joey Aguilar stepping in at the 11th hour to steady things when it mattered most.
Aguilar will be playing one last game for the Vols, unless he can get a waiver by the NCAA, which seems less and less likely as time moves on. That means Josh Heupel needs to evaluate his quarterback room and decide what he has moving forward. Does Heupel stay in the house and let George MacIntyre and Faizon Brandon compete? Or does Heupel find a veteran in the transfer portal to raise the floor of the 2026 Tennessee team? These are all questions that need to be answered quickly.
When it comes to handing off the reins to Freshman George MacIntyre, Joey Aguilar has his full vote of confidence. Aguilar said this about MacIntyre's improvement, "I would say all over the place. In the film room, you know, getting the timing down with the receivers, being vocal and controlling the offense, you know, film studies, asking good questions, learning defenses and just getting the scheme of what we got going on down to a tee."
Aguilar then went on to say, "he’s prepared, and when he gets the shot, he’ll take advantage of it for sure."
Tennessee’s quarterback room could take shape for next season with the Music City Bowl.
— Blaine Kellar (@sports_bk) December 26, 2025
As Joey Aguilar prepares for what could be his last start, he talked about backup George MacIntyre for the bowl game. pic.twitter.com/abrd8wiTcC
Joey Aguilar says George MacIntyre is prepared to take over
That’s a pretty strong vote of confidence coming from the veteran signal-caller. It’s clear MacIntyre has already made significant strides in a short time since arriving in Knoxville, and that progress hasn’t gone unnoticed inside the program.
MacIntyre has only played in two games this year as a true freshman and went 7/9 for 69 yards. Handing over the keys to a young quarterback is risky, but could pay major dividends. If MacIntyre puts it together early, Tennessee could have its starter set for the next three seasons, giving him time to grow and thrive in Heupel’s system.
MacIntyre has the kind of arm strength that fits perfectly in Heupel’s offense, with the ability to make every deep throw the system asks for. Add in the fact that he comes from a strong football lineage, and it’s easy to see why the staff is high on his long-term potential. MacIntyre has the physical traits, no doubt, he just needs to put it all together.
Josh Heupel has a lot of big decisions to make in a short amount of time. The 2026 quarterback decision cannot be a miss.